System Supervillain, Chapter 70 (Patreon)

Chapter 70 – Fate

You would think that, in this world of supervillains, it would be easy enough to find someone who could desecrate a battlefield. And, really, it was. The problem, of course, was that most of the usual methods of desecrating a place were far from subtle, and took a good deal of time to set up. Some of the rituals that my girls had heard of lasted days to properly desecrate any area of appreciable size.

Oh, sure, desecrating a shrine could be quick, but the actual radius of the unholy area was dependent upon how long the process took. To desecrate an entire building would take several hours, at least. Desecrating a city block could take days. And a city would take months to do right.

This was a problem, because, by all accounts, Serafina was not some brain-dead zealot who charged blindly into combat, shouting about how Deus Vult. There was no way Serafina would just walk into the middle of an unholy site in the making, instead of stopping outside and trying to purify the place before it became fully desecrated. We needed some way to disguise the ritual in progress, or have it arranged so that all that was left, at the end, was a metaphorical flip of the switch, which could be done after she was drawn out.

Neither of those were particularly simple asks. There was too much that could go wrong when looking at all that. And Serafina wasn’t just a healer. She could bring some pain if she wanted to, and had ways of getting out of trouble if she needed to. Trying to rely on a freaky chain of events to bring her down was too much. And, without weakening her by removing her powers, it was unlikely that we’d be able to defeat her before reinforcements showed up. She may be a solo heroine, but she had friends in the hero community who would come to her aid, if given enough time.

So, some kind of ritual was not something we would be able to pull off. Not reliably, anyways. But that didn’t mean that we were out of options. Just like Serafina was able to create holy ground in her area, there were those who could do the opposite. I just needed to find one who could do that.

Thanks to Crystal’s research, we were able to find someone who fit the bill. Signore Destino (Lord Fate in English) was a spellcaster who was supposed to have devil blood in his veins, or something like that. Wasn’t sure whether that was just hype, or the truth, but he had been shown to create areas of temporary unholy ground at times.

More importantly, he was an existing rival of Serafina’s. He wasn’t nearly as powerful as her, of course. In fact, the only reason he wasn’t dead was because the two were fairly good at countering each other’s powers, and Serafina apparently had some qualms about killing, especially when someone wasn’t threatening innocent civilians. And whatever other issues Destino had, he wasn’t stupid to go enraging her by doing anything like that in her presence. In fact, their battles were fairly respectable, all told. Destino wanted to see Serafina fall, not dead, and the angel wanted to ‘save’ him, so that his talents could be turned to better uses.

“So, what is it you want with the lovely Serafina, hmm?”

Destino was a fairly good-looking man, but did not have the same kind of charisma as some of the true superhumans did. Still, he had that ‘superhuman hotness’, as Web Mistress put it. All supers tended to be a bit more than normal humans in the looks department, and he was no different. He just wasn’t particularly hot, compared to other supers.

His outfit was mainly a simple dress shirt and pants, but he wore a long coat with dark runework embroidered into it, making it equivalent to armor. Again, nothing terribly out of the ordinary. He was a super, but he wasn’t sporting powers or gear that would make him any kind of threat to me, especially if I was ready for him.

We were meeting in a place of his choosing, a bar he owned in Messina, on the island of Sicily. Of course, he owned it in his public persona, which was kept separate from his villainous persona by the glamour he used to hide his features while acting as Signore Destino. At the moment, though, he still looked and sounded like Rufino Gaspari.

Gaspari only spoke Italian, but my costume had a translator, so communicating wasn’t an issue. Or, at least, the language barrier wasn’t an issue. I still wasn’t convinced that Gaspari wouldn’t make himself an issue before this was through. “That business is my own. It should be enough that I am paying you to create an area where she will be unable to use her powers freely. I can even promise you that I will do my utmost to ensure that she lives.”

Destino frowned, and glanced over my shoulder, to where Bloodmoon and Stolen Victory were standing, as my attendants. His gaze was calculating. “No, no, no. You may think that is good enough, but if I am to be a party to this, then I want some assurances. I have fought against Serafina many times, and know the type of woman she is. I wish to see her falter, and become human, not some supposed aspect of divinity. I do not wish for her to become shackled and broken, like those women behind you, the one who was once Moonchild and Lady Victory. I have heard rumors of you, Iceblade, and what you do to those women who cross your path. If anyone is to enjoy Serafina’s body, then it will be me, and me alone!”

Yes, Destino was going to be a problem. He thought that, because he had a service that I desired, he had some power over me, that he could dictate terms to me. This… was not a point of view that I wished to encourage.

“Destino, I believe you have erred in your read of the situation. You see, I came here, and offered to hire your services as a courtesy. You have not done me any insult before now, and so I had no reason to act out against you. However, this does not mean my courtesy extends to allowing you to make slights against my women, or dictate to me my actions.”

The warlock stood from the table, controlled anger on his face. “Then I think it best that you leave. I won’t be talked down to in my own establishment. You need me, but I do not need you, or your women, as you put it. I will not be part of whatever scheme you are putting together. Only I may possess the angel.”

“Ah, such a pity that we could not come to terms,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Bloodmoon, if you could be so kind as to persuade our recalcitrant companion? Educate him on the true shape of the situation.”

Segment   2:

Bloodmoon’s   modified attack roll (Destino), OCV 9: 3d6 = 12 (Hits DCV 8) (Hit)

Bloodmoon:   51/60 END

Destino:   Grabbed

“Of course, Master,” Bloodmoon said, grinning. The next instant, she had circled around the table, and had wrapped up Destino in a grapple from behind, pinning his arms to his side.

Segment   4:

Bloodmoon’s   attack roll (Destino), OCV 10: 3d6 = 12 (Hits DCV 9) (Hit)

Bloodmoon   Slave: 5d6+1 = 15 Soul Transform Damage

Bloodmoon:   47/60 END

Destino:   15/60 Soul Transform Damage

Destino’s   escape attempt: 2d6 = 2 normal BODY

Bloodmoon’s   Grab attempt: 10d6 = 8 normal BODY (Success)

Bloodmoon:   47/60 END

Destino:   15/60 Soul Transform Damage

Destino:   Grabbed

Now, with Lord Fate in her grasp, Bloodmoon bent his head to the side, and bit down with her fangs, piercing his throat. Only, she did not damage him, or drink his blood. Not at this moment. No, she was transforming him, turning the warlock into her devoted thrall, who would do whatever she told him to. Even at the cost of his own life.

Of course, Destino did not just sit there and take it. He tried to escape Bloodmoon’s grip, but she was far stronger than the warlock could ever hope to be, enhanced as she was by the power of the bloody moon. His efforts were for naught, and he remained caught in her grip.

Segment   6:

Bloodmoon’s   attack roll (Destino), OCV 10: 3d6 = 13 (Hits DCV 8) (Hit)

Bloodmoon   Slave: 5d6+1 = 19 Soul Transform Damage

Bloodmoon:   43/60 END

Destino:   34/60 Soul Transform Damage

Bloodmoon:   43/60 END

Destino:   34/60 Soul Transform Damage

Destino:   Grabbed

Bloodmoon just smiled at the warlock’s helpless struggle. Her fangs bit down again, injecting more of the venom that worked to transform his soul. He was strong-willed, as a mage, but if he couldn’t muster enough strength to push her off, then it was a foregone conclusion what the outcome of this contest would be.

Segment   8:

Bloodmoon’s   attack roll (Destino), OCV 10: 3d6 = 13 (Hits DCV 8) (Hit)

Bloodmoon   Slave: 5d6+1 = 17 Soul Transform Damage

Bloodmoon:   39/60 END

Destino:   51/60 Soul Transform Damage

Destino’s   escape attempt: 2d6 = 2 normal BODY

Bloodmoon’s   Grab attempt: 10d6 = 11 normal BODY (Success)

Bloodmoon:   39/60 END

Destino:   51/60 Soul Transform Damage

Destino:   Grabbed

Another bite mark joined the two others on Destino’s neck. Even without any kind of telepathy or soulsight, I could tell that the man’s will was weakening. It would not be long before the process was complete. Especially since the warlock proved once again that his body lacked more than a normal human’s strength. He spent too much time training his magic, and not enough time ensuring he had a strong body to support him. That was going to be his doom.

Segment   10:

Bloodmoon’s   attack roll (Destino), OCV 10: 3d6 = 14 (Hits DCV 7) (Hit)

Bloodmoon   Slave: 5d6+1 = 20 Soul Transform Damage

Bloodmoon:   35/60 END

Destino:   71/60 Soul Transform Damage (Complete)

On the fourth bite, Destino stiffened, and then went still, his body relaxing as all fight left him. He remained standing on his own two feet when Bloodmoon released him, but there was a vacant look in his eyes, like the lights were on, but no one was home. He was a thrall, now, a puppet for her to direct as she wished. Worse than one of my slaves, he no longer had any will to speak of. Even Stolen Victory had free will, within the confines of her shackles, but the ‘Lord of Fate’ was not even able to exhibit her level of conscious thought or self-determination.

Bloodmoon turned to smile at me, a trickle of blood still upon her lips from where she’d bitten him. “It is done, Master. Fate’s Fool is under my control. He should still have access to all his powers, allowing him to use the spell necessary to create a field of unholy ground. But he will no longer be an issue to your plans.”

I smiled back at her. “Thank you, Bloodmoon. I knew that I could count on you to make quick work of him. Though I was surprised it took you that long. Clearly, our warlock was formerly quite the willful little brat. Probably why he thought that he could dictate terms to us.”

“Master,” Stolen Victory said, hesitantly, “if you knew this was the likely outcome, why did you bother trying to hire the warlock in the first place? Why not just cheat him from the beginning, and be done with it?”

“Because, Victory, I am not that kind of monster. I showed respect, by offering him a fair price for his services. If he had simply turned me down, I would have left him be, and looked for another solution. If he had negotiated respectfully, looking for better pay, or other considerations, then I would have responded in kind. But he tried to dictate terms to me, as though he was in the superior position. Allowing some mid-tier villain to disrespect me like that would be inviting open conflict, as it would be a sign of weakness. Others would try the same thing, and I’d have to make many examples before it ended. Having a quick and decisive answer to his impudence means I should not have to repeat this lesson too often.”